Maine Makes 33
Posted on Thu, Jun 09, 2011 @ 02:07 PM
By September, Maine will be the 33rd state to ban texting while
driving. The law has already been passed, but the rule will go into effect this fall. The minimum fine for the offense will be $100. With such a large majority now with some sort of ban on cell phones, it makes one wonder about the other 17 states that do not have bans. The wave of states banning cell phone use in some form started in 2009 when the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched its anti-distracted driving campaign; centered on Distraction.gov.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood started the campaign to combat the growing trend of dangerous distracted driving behavior in America. Distraction.gov is his main tool to educate the American public on the dangers of distracted driving and many state governments have taken notice of his work and the raw data being pulled on the dangers of distracted driving. "Distracted driving kills thousands of people every year on our roads and injures hundreds of thousands more," said LaHood. "By signing this tough texting ban into law today, Gov. LePage has taken a crucial step to improve safety and save lives on Maine roads." He was referring to Maine Governor Paul LePage, the man who signed off on the law to ban texting in his state.
Maine is yet another victory for LaHood in his attempt to make U.S. roads safer. With more and more states joining the fight it’s only a matter of time before all states ban cell phone use in some form. As it stands right now, 8 states (Calif., Conn., Del., Md., N.J., N.Y., Ore. and Wash.), D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving, 33 states ban texting for all drivers, and somewhat surprisingly, no states ban all cell phone use for all drivers. However, it may seem as though we’re heading in that direction. 30 states already have full bans on novice drivers and 19 have full bans on school bus drivers. Some states have laws that are primary enforcement which means a driver can be ticketed for just improper cell phone use; the driver does not need to be committing another driving violation as well. 7 of the 8 states with handheld use are primary enforcement and 29 of the 33 states with bans on just texting have primary enforcement.
The DOT has given police the power to crack down on distracted driving which should bring it to an effective end sometime in the future. Drivers shouldn’t text not only because of the fines they could receive, but because of how dangerous it is as well. Cell phone use and driving do not mix well, Maine is the 33rd state to take notice of this and the DOT couldn’t be happier with the state’s decision.